This year’s Missional Learning Commons is only two days away! I’m excited to see many long-time friends and meet a whole slew of new ones as well (we have over 140 people registered this year). This year our theme is discipleship, and we’re excited that Mike Breen will be with us to help guide the conversation. (Speaking of Mike, if you can swing it, check out the 3DM workshop on Friday and the theological discussion Thursday night!)
I will be facilitating a discussion on Saturday morning about the relationship between discipleship and the gospel. More concretely:
Does the gospel you preach naturally lead to people becoming disciples of Jesus?
It’s really an amalgamation of a few of my blog posts, but here’s a little outline of what I plan to share…
PART 1: THE TRUNCATED GOSPEL
- There is a direct link between what we think the gospel is and whether or not we become disciples of Jesus.
- The reason more Christians aren’t running over themselves to become disciples of Jesus is that we as leaders have been preaching a truncated gospel (Gospel as forgiveness / forgiveness as salvation).
- People who are taught that forgiveness = salvation do not become disciples of Jesus, because they cannot fathom why they’d need him for anything other than his blood.
- Thus our call to discipleship, no matter how sincere or well-articulated, is being subverted by this understanding of the gospel and salvation. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.
- The call to discipleship must be rooted in the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel Jesus preached: the good news that through Jesus Christ, life under God’s rule (kingdom) is available to anyone and everyone.
- Saying “yes” to this gospel naturally leads to discipleship, because this is a very different way of life that we must learn from Someone who knows how to do it and empowers us to do it: Jesus. There is no other way to say “yes” except by becoming a disciples of Jesus.
- This leads to the formation of our character in the image of Christ, which leads to everyday mission as we join him in what he’s doing.
- Thus there is no mission without formation, no formation without discipleship, and no discipleship without the gospel of the kingdom.
Response from Mike / Table discussion / Feedback, Q&A
PART 2: PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
- Preaching the gospel of the kingdom involves a massive re-imagining of what Christianity is all about for most people. How can we do this effectively?
- Jesus actually had the same challenge: how to help people re-imagine the kingdom of God.
- Jesus hardly ever confronted these issues directly. Instead, he “snuck in the back door” by using parables, stories, symbols, pictures that burned themselves into people’s minds like time-bombs, eventually exploding paradigms and re-shaping imagination.
- What parables, images, symbols, stories do we need?
Response from Mike / Table discussion / Feedback, Q&A
- What parables/stories have been transformative for your understanding of discipleship/the gospel/salvation?
- What biblical images/symbols/parables might be particularly helpful for re-shaping our understanding of the gospel?
- What modern images/symbols/parables can you think of that could be helpful for re-shaping our understanding of the gospel?
FINAL WORD: EMBODIED WITNESS
- Our witness can never be with words only. There must be evidence in our lives of the truth of what we proclaim.
- We have to be smoking what we’re selling if we’re going to be credible witnesses.
"The good news that through Jesus Christ, life under God’s rule (kingdom) is available to anyone and everyone."
That definition of the Gospel really, really resonates with me personally. However, in a few conversations I've had with some of my Christian friends, I've gotten a lot of pushback on that definition. The criticisms I've gotten are:
1. It sounds like it's work-based religion.
2. It undermines "Grace through Faith Alone".
3. It cheapens the cross.
Since I've just really started thinking hard about this (What is the Gospel and how should we preach/teach it), I'm not really sure how to respond to these concerns. Probably because I'm having my own doubts about grace through faith alone. In Jesus' teaching, he definitely seems to be saying I need to DO something – repent, follow, trust.
Do you hear these types of concerns raised? If so, any thoughts you could share?
Thanks, Brian
Brian, those are the kinds of questions I hear all the time. Dallas Willard once said that preaching the gospel of the kingdom will make certain kinds of people nervous, because they're afraid of those things you mentioned.
My response straight from Dallas Willard, too (paraphrasing):
Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude, effort is action. And we need to action, because while we can never do it alone, it will not be done for us. We are not earning anything as we take action in the kingdom, we're merely stepping into life in the kingdom.
I would also recommend Scot McKnight's new book "The King Jesus Gospel." I've only read the first few chapters, but he raises some fantastic concerns over how we have preached the gospel, and the results of it.
Looks great Ben, I'm sure it will be an excellent discussion.
Thanks Tim!
We do not go to the Kingdom, the Kingdom comes to us.
We were banished to this world to live and experience the results of our selfishness in the Garden.
1) What was the original sin that got us banished from the Garden? Self determination, our will before God's.
2) What did the Tempter tempt Jesus with ? Leadership over these kingdoms of mankind based on self determination, or the Kingdom of God following the will of God.
3) Why did the oppressed, the servants, slaves, and women so readily understand the Gospel of
the Kingdom? Because they felt first hand how self determination creates a world of strife and
oppression without equality or justice for all. They recognized that Jesus was talking about two opposing kingdoms and they wanted no part of mankind's. They in effect were born again into hope of the new Kingdom and to grow in it's ways, repenting of the old pre-birth ways of this world of mankind's making.
4) The gospel of grace is part of the Gospel of the Kingdom but the Gospel of the Kingdom was excluded from the gospel of grace. Why? Because the Gospel of the Kingdom that stated God had no use for the kingdoms or ways of mankind because of self will, was a threat to the existing hierarchy both religious and State, and of course Satan. The gospel of Salvation threatens no one being a "safe" gospel that threatened no powers or principalities and especially no kingdoms (including your own).
5) What did Jesus say regarding the Gospel of the Kingdom that we must first do? Repent and change our ways. Of what? Our putting our own will first, the evil that is behind all institutions of mankind, invading even Christianity.
6) Jesus said not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? Because they didn't follow His two commandments (which cover all commandments and laws given before)
Matthew 22:
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
7) The choice was simple, repent and live in the ways of the Kingdom of God OR remain faithful to the ways of mankind and our kingdoms based on that original sin. one reward is everlasting life in the kingdom of God, the other is only the temporary rewards we make for ourselves here. Rebellion yes, but the narrow true path. A rebellion that got Jesus and His true followers killed as threats and traitors. Especially difficult for those who put political or social ideals first, having been most often taught this first. Wrong kingdom.
8) Hence the Holy Spirit that guides us, keeps us strong, and helps us recognize the ideals built on the selfish will of mankind for what they are, while helping us love our neighbours as we would be loved by them . What of mankind will exist in the Kingdom but this?
Very thorough, U Timmy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Ben. I plan and lead almost all of the singing at my church. I'm quickly realizing that almost all of the songs my congregation sings focus on what you are calling the Truncated Gospel. Very few songs out there that focus on kingdom life and the Jesus way. Not sure what to do about!
I will definitely have to check out Scot McKnight's newest book. Thanks again, Brian
Brian, I hear you! I used to plan and lead most of the music at a church for 10 years. It's not that the truncated gospel is FALSE, it's just… truncated!
For what it's worth, a few songwriters that I've found that "preach" a less truncated gospel are Matt Redman, Gungor, Matt Maher and The Brilliance. I also like the modern-day hymn writers Stuart Townend and Marva Dawn. I'm sure there are others out there I'm not thinking of, but I'm seeing more and more songs talking about the gospel of the kingdom.
We sing a few Redman and Townend songs already. Yes, good, deep-thinking songwriters. I will have to check out the others you mention.
You've really got me thinking about my church's worship services. What kind of Gospel are we presenting? For instance, every week we have a confession & pardon. Do you think that simply reinforces a truncated gospel? I suppose it depends on how the confession and pardon are presented? Since I'm Presbyterian, I try to stay within my tradition while giving the pardon ("Scripture teaches that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us…" etc.) , but my pastor and congregation are pretty open to change in matters like this.
Thanks again, Ben……. Brian
Brian, those are the right things to be thinking through!
I don't think that a confession and pardon necessarily reinforces a truncated gospel. I think it's more a matter of opening up a bigger picture for people, without denying the truth of the part of the gospel we're comfortable with. I think that this kind of thing can slowly "seep into" a congregation's imagination so they begin to see things in a new light.